Five Minutes To Midnight
by TheHappyOwl
Summary: Izzy Jones has been living in the Alexandria Safe Zone for three months now. Things have worked out rather oddly, yet still in her favor. But certain events may change that all. Slightly AU, some SPOILERS FOR S6.
1. Chapter 1

Autumn had brought with it, not only the cold, but an ominous feeling about the supplies that the Alexandria Safe Zone had as winter drew closer. It wasn't like a mass panic about supplies had arisen, instead it was a tiny reminder that sat in the back of each and everyone's mind; _we must ration our supplies._ Sure, they now had a strong alliance with the Hilltop. And yes, they could still go on supplies runs to see what they could gather, but when it all boiled down everybody knew that there was no such thing as infinite resources. Their crops would not grow well over winter, hell some wouldn't grow at all. People would need energy to complete a successful supply run, and on rations it was made all the more difficult.

It was this thought that was playing on Izzy Jones' mind as she walked down the road. She had just finished her shift on lookout at the gate and was headed home. The clouds overhead had settled in the early hours of the morning, making it a gloomy and bitter day. She was sure that rain would dampen the day ever more, but not one drop had fallen so far. Her house would be cold when she arrived, but it was a small price to pay considering three months ago she had no house at all.

Three months ago her luck had changed. By chance she had emerged from the edge of the woods to see a sprawling mass of wall ahead of her. Both terrified and fascinated she had approached, only to be met with aimed guns and wary voices. She had immediately made a choice; go along with what they wanted, even if it killed her. She'd been through her fair share of rough times and was at the point of exhaustion. She was ready to give up, and if that meant the end of her journey then so be it. So, when a gruff looking man and a tall, slender woman had emerged from the gate of the towering wall and demanded her bag she had gone right ahead and thrown it to them; a bag that contained only a thin blanket, half a bottle of water and a muesli bar three months past expiry. After a pat down, and some deliberation, she was given a choice; take up the offer of these strangers to stay with them; work and in turn have shelter, food and safety. Or, leave and never come back, with a high chance of them killing her then and there anyway. Needless to say she took up the offer to stay, and now she was glad she had.

Some days she still couldn't believe her luck, and how just one single event could so dramatically change her way of thinking, and her whole life. She had gone from depressed and ready to end it all, to becoming a strong and defiant person willing to fight for everything she, and everyone else, had. She also couldn't believe that she had run into someone she had known from when she was a child through to her late teenage years. It had been a long twelve years since they had last met, but she had come face to face with a man who had seen her through some very dark times. But it was a mixed bag of emotions; happiness, shock, anger, sadness, curiosity. So many things had happened since their last encounter that she wasn't sure if either of them could believe they were the same people. Deep down they probably were the same people, but so much had changed that it didn't really matter.

Footsteps came at her from behind at a fast pace and made Izzy turn around. Running made her nervous; it either meant that she too should be running or someone was coming to give her bad news. As Daryl slowed and stopped before her she felt her heart begin to race; what could be going wrong? She'd had such a good run of luck that she wasn't sure she'd handle bad news very well, even though she knew that it was an inevitable occurrence that would happen more than once, it was the zombie apocalypse after all.

"What are you doin' for dinner?" he asked, his voice breaking her nervous silence.

"Umm..." slightly surprised that it was not bad news Izzy was lost for words for a minute. "Nothing,"

"Carol's having Rick, Michonne and the kids over, there's room for one more, Carol wanted to know if you'd come?" Daryl said. Izzy smiled, it was a welcome offer. Having spent the better part of her three months in Alexandria living on her own she was ready to sit down to dinner with more than just herself.

"Sounds great, what time?" Izzy asked.

"Seven," Daryl answered.

"See you then," Izzy flashed a wide smile before turning away.

* * *

 **After a long hiatus from writing I have my mojo back. Please let me know what you think. x**


	2. Chapter 2

A warm, hearty meal made all the difference to one's mood and no one could deny that Carol made a mean casserole. Tonight it had been a chicken casserole. It wasn't just the meal that had everybody's spirits lifted, it was the good company, being able to talk and laugh freely. Being able to forget their worries, even if just for a few hours.

The women, Carol, Michonne and Izzy, huddled at one end of the table, sipping on wine and talking between themselves about stuff that probably wouldn't interest the men. They cooed over Judith while she played with a teddy and gushed about how much she had grown and how quickly she was learning. They excitedly spoke about the impending birth of Maggie and Glenn's child, about how it would be a beautiful and welcome thing to the Alexandria community. The men, Rick and Daryl, sat at the other end of the table, allowing themselves to relax a little and unwind with a few beers. Rick even caved and allowed Carl to have a beer. They talked about nothing in particular, but would occasionally let out loud bouts of laughter that had the women eyeing them curiously. All in all everyone was glad to have a night off, to let go of the seriousness of life and just enjoy what they had.

It was just on ten when Izzy thanked Carol for dinner, said her good-night's to everybody and left through the front door. A slight breeze had picked up since she had arrived and it swept around her neck and down her back sending her skin prickling; she had always hated the cold weather. She picked up her pace to a brisk walk and headed for home. Her mind, once again, was preoccupied with thoughts. She had thoroughly enjoyed herself for the evening, had let her guard down, like everybody else. The people of Alexandria had accepted her with little hesitation, for that she was truly blessed.

Despite trying to shrug off a feeling of uncertain emotions she took a deep breath and decided to dig deep. What was it exactly that made her toss and turn at night? What was that itch under the surface? What was that nagging feeling in her chest that wouldn't let her rest? Was it the fact that everybody in Alexandria was living a "normal" life? Going about their days like nothing had ever changed even though their routines were far from normal. Was it that they were confined to the safety of four walls, tall and strong, for what seemed like the rest of their days? Or, was it something more? It seemed that at the moment it would remain a mystery to her.

"Izzy!" the sound of her name being called pulled her quickly from the thoughts and back to reality, back to the bitter cold. She stopped and looked around, only then noticing that she was only two doors down from her own house. At the end of the dark street she saw Daryl headed for her and backtracked until they met halfway.

"Forgot ya coat," Daryl said as he held out Izzy's thick coat. It was only then that she realised she had forgotten it when she had left, and just how cold she actually was. Hurriedly she slipped the coat on, letting out a small relieved sigh at the instant warmth the felt.

"Thanks," Izzy said. Daryl gave a short nod and it took her back to all those years ago, the way he would just nod if he felt he had nothing to say. Some things hadn't changed and it comforted her a little. Suddenly a thought popped into her head, and even though she thought it sounded a bit silly, she decided that she'd had such a good evening the good vibes could continue a little while longer.

"Hey, Daryl... Did you want to come back to my place?" she asked.

"Ahh..." Daryl looked slightly unsure.

"I mean to have a drink!" Izzy rushed, realising she should have clarified straight away. She had no intentions of making it sound like something else. She was glad it was dark enough that he couldn't see her face flush a bright shade of red. "I've got this bottle of whiskey I found and it would probably warm us up quicker than lighting the fire,"


	3. Chapter 3

The whiskey had warmed Izzy's body a little; another sip of the liquid sliding down her throat left a slight pleasant burn in its path. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and her legs tucked beneath her on the couch. Daryl sat at the opposite end of the couch. He too had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, a glass of whiskey in his hands. The living room was bathed in the soft light of the lamp that sat on a small table beside Izzy. The whiskey in the bottle was slowly disappearing, as was the night. Izzy glanced to the large clock on the mantel piece; five minutes to midnight.

"You ever get lonely?" Izzy was slightly stunned at the sound of her own voice breaking the silence. They had started off quiet, settling onto the couch and cracking open the seal of the whiskey. Then after a couple of drinks, they began to talk, began to ask about each other. They talked about how they had survived up until now, talked about people they'd met, people they'd lost and people they had wished they'd never met. There was no talk of when they had known each other previously, there really wasn't any need to. Then silence had crept upon them once more.

"Nup," came Daryl's short reply. He wasn't angry, he wasn't upset, it was just simply how he had chosen to reply. Izzy took the last sip of her drink and placed the glass beside her on the table before picking up the bottle and pouring herself another. She looked to Daryl and he gave another one of his nods, indicating he would accept another drink. She reached out for his glass and as she took it her fingers brushed over his. Had this been any other night she would have just ignored it and poured the drink as normal. But tonight, tonight she had done a lot of thinking, and drinking, and now her mind was in overdrive. It took her a moment to realise the stream of whiskey had moved from the glass onto Daryl's hand, and the couch.

"Shit! Sorry!" she gasped and placed the bottle back onto the side table, the lid skittering beside it. Quickly she jumped from the couch and raced into the kitchen to get a tea-towel before running back and handing it to Daryl. He cleaned his hand, the outside of the glass and the couch free of alcohol before handing it back. Back in the kitchen Izzy took a moment to allow herself several deep breaths, trying to get herself and her thoughts together. Nothing was said when she walked back into the living room and so she sat back on the couch. She didn't bother wrapping the blanket around herself this time in hopes that the coolness might help clear her head, even just a little. So much for not having any other intentions. Despite this she still reached for her glass of whiskey and took a sip.

"You alright?" Daryl asked eventually. He could clearly see something was troubling Izzy but she was staying quiet on what it was. She nodded as she looked into her drink and he wondered what on earth could have brought this change on so quickly. There had been no tension in the room before she had tried to pour him another drink. Surely accidentally spilling some drink wasn't something that could upset her so badly. "Izzy?"

"I think you should go," Izzy muttered, refusing to look at him. Now Daryl was at a complete loss. He wanted to test the waters, and it could have been the alcohol talking, but he wanted to find out what it was she was so worried about.

"Why?" he asked, his glass coming to rest on the floor beside the couch with a soft clink. Still Izzy wouldn't look at him and something inside of Daryl was desperate to know why. With a fire beginning to burn inside of him he shrugged the blanket from his shoulders and scooted closer to Izzy. "Why should I go?"

"Because you just should!" her voice was full of agitation and she stood up, stepped away from the couch, before she finally turned her eyes upon Daryl. In some sort of desperate moment Daryl wished he could easily read Izzy like a book, but they'd both been drinking since about seven and even though they had paced themselves they were still both fairly heavily intoxicated, the past few hours of whiskey drinking wasn't helping.


End file.
